SF Parent PAC Recommends Prop B and Scott Wiener on June 7, 2016

May 22, 2016

The SF Parent PAC felt it important to weigh in on two ballot items for June: Prop B (the measure ensuring funds for San Francisco’s parks and recreation programs) and the State Senate race. There is information about our position on Prop B in the last post, and below you will see why we support Supervisor Wiener as the next State Senator for San Francisco.

THE RATIONALE
1. Education– Scott has been a great ally in SF for the public schools, actively supporting them the entire time he has served on the BOS. For example, he has supported increased city funding toward SFUSD and supported parents when 8th grade algebra was eliminated (even when Superintendent Carranza suggested he stay out of it).

Scott also supports:
* Increase state funding for schools, and understands the need to protect Prop 98 and not treat it as a floor.
* Expand after-school programs (added support for kids is necessary, and supports working parents).
* Universal preschool and increased child care options.
* Support for STEM
* Long-time supporter of Safe Routes to School and pedestrian safety investments
* Support for more paraprofessional positions in schools, as well as all the critical support roles like nurses, counselors, etc.
* Supports a school assignment system that allows people to attend neighborhood schools.
* Support for bilingual and immersion programs, English-learning programs, and support for communities to maintain cultural traditions.

2. Children’s (and adult!) Health – Scott authored a resolution putting SF on record in support of SB277, which requires vaccinations for kids to go to public school. Scott also sponsored the soda tax in 2014, which would have dedicated nearly $20 million annually to school lunch, p.e. and parks programs. He also secured funding for water bottle filling stations at schools.

3. Public Space – Scott has long supported our parks through helping pass the 2012 parks bond, helping make the Noe Valley Town Square a reality, and establishing uniform closing hours for the parks to reduce vandalism.

4. Housing – Scott has authored many smart policies to address the affordability issues here in SF, and understands the law of supply and demand. He believes in three approaches to address our housing needs: 1) Encouraging smart approaches to housing creation, 2) Building more affordable housing more quickly, and 3) Ensuring housing stability for existing residents.

Some of the things he’s done: make it easier to build BMR housing by exempting them from conditional use authorizations, incentivize more affordable housing by not making it count against unit density rates (when 20% of project is affordable), allowing new in-law units, enforce short-term rental oversight hearings, more housing along transit corridors, more student housing, helping displace tenants, allow more flexibility in kinds of housing we build (small and big), increasing supply of moderate income housing, and more!

5. Transportation – Scott authored Prop B to tie transportation funding to population growth in 2014. He has done much to improve pedestrian safety. And much more! (I’m getting tired of typing all the things he does – how does he have time to research and then do them?!)

Obviously, he has done much more than what is listed here, and has many more plans for Sacramento once he gets there. This is just a few quick points directly relating to kids and families.

Finally, Scott has been an incredible supporter of parents and our right to contribute our voice and influence to all conversations and decisions related to families. He is as relentless and hard-working as anyone we have ever seen. He is very good at finding shared issues with colleagues to work on together, even when that issue might be the only thing they have in common. His door is always open; he will listen to anything you have to say and have a reasonable conversation about it. He is also never afraid to stand up for the things he believes in.

It is because of all of these reasons that the Parent PAC believes Supervisor Scott Wiener will be effective in Sacramento, and a tremendous representative for San Francisco.